American Airlines and five USA destination partners have launched the 2022 Sell Your Way to the USA incentive programme.

This offers New Zealand and Australian travel agents an  opportunity to Sell Their Way to the USA and secure a spot on one of five famil opportunities to travel from October 2022 to March 2023.

Kiwi agents have been punching above their weight when it comes to demonstrating a willingness to keep learning in these tough times, say the organisers of a recent USA focused series of webinars.

Corey Marshall, founder and co-director of Canukiwi says the New Zealand trade made up considerably more than half of strong turnouts for Australia-NZ focused webinars on Utah, Nevada, Anchorage and Washington DC recently.

Nevada’s road trips, state and national parks and small towns all provide opportunities for New Zealand clients to extend their trip (and agents to extend their revenue) beyond Las Vegas, according to the state’s tourism office.

Joanne Motta, from Travel Nevada, says Las Vegas is the third most visited US location from Australasia but she often hears of people who book 10 nights and wonder what to do after enjoying the shows and other nightlife of The Strip. ‘We are telling people to get out and do something different and suggesting the trade sell Nevada beyond Las Vegas.’ She says Valley of Fire and Red Rock Canyon are state parks that are 45 and 30 minutes’ drive from Las Vegas respectively. They cost less than US$10 for entry, and can be explored by electric bike, dune buggies or foot.

There is also Cathedral Gorge, which is between Las Vegas and Great Basin National Park, one of the least visited national parks and one that offers plenty of hiking opportunities (including the fairly strenuous walk up Wheeler Peak) plus cave systems that can be explored. ‘Nevada is the most mountainous state in the USA but nobody thinks that,’ says Motta. ‘Northern Nevada has heliskiing and glaciers.’ She also recommends a drive along Highway 50 – dubbed the ‘loneliest highway in America’ by USA Today in the 1980s. Towns along the route have a passport programme where people can collect stamps to prove they have been on this road less travelled.